Mobile machines such as haul trucks, excavators, motor graders, backhoes, water trucks, and other large equipment are utilized at a common worksite to accomplish a variety of tasks. At these worksites, because of the size of these machines, lack of visibility, slow response time, and difficulty of operation, operators should be keenly aware of their surroundings. Specifically, each operator should be aware of the location of stationary objects at the worksite, road conditions, facilities, and other mobile machines in the same vicinity. Based on the speed of a particular machine, and its size and response profile, the operator of the machine should respond differently to each encountered obstacle in order to avoid collision and damage to the machine, the objects at the worksite, and the other mobile machines. In some situations, there may be insufficient warning for the operator to adequately maneuver the machine away from damaging encounters.
One way to reduce the likelihood of damaging encounters is disclosed in a document entitled “OziExplorer Features—Moving Map” that was downloaded from the internet site http://www.oziexplorer3.com/eng/features/features_moreinfo6.html on Dec. 1, 2010 (“the Ozi publication”). Specifically, the Ozi publication discloses a system that plots a machine's GPS position directly onto an electronic map displayed on a screen within the machine. The system also plots on the screen any number of waypoints in the path of the machine, as well as user-defined alarm zones set around stationary objects at the waypoints. The alarm zones are polygons drawn on the electronic map. When an alarm zone is entered by the machine, a custom alarm sounds within the machine.
Although the system of the Ozi publication may help to reduce the likelihood of a machine colliding with a stationary object located within a defined alarm zone, it may be less than optimal. In particular, the system of the Ozi publication may do little to reduce the likelihood of a mobile machine colliding with another mobile entity that does not have a designated alarm zone.
The disclosed worksite system is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems of the prior art.